I can't believe The Pea is already 10 years old! Time has gone by so quickly, and I'm sure it will feel like the blink of an eye before she turns 14, 16, then 18. A few years ago Alfie and I watched the movie 13, and we were haunted by how easy it is for young, impressionable girls to get on the wrong track without strong mentors and role models in their lives, someone they can talk to and look up to.

I know parents always hope that their kids will be able to talk to them, but sometimes girls also need a trusted friend or aunt, in addition to their parents. Strangely enough, my most recent ally in opening up the lines of communication between me and The Pea isn't even human -- it's Discovery Girls magazine, a magazine created for tween girls with features written by real girls about topics that matter most to them. It's now celebrating it's 10th birthday (just like The Pea!). Discovery Girls sent us a couple of their magazines and their Fab Girl Guide book set to review, and so far they have been a real positive influence in her life.

About the magazineDiscovery Girls is a national magazine aimed at girls between the ages of 8 and 13. Our mission is to inspire and encourage girls to be more confident and resilient and help them deal with those difficult situations that all girls run into growing up. We give them advice and wholesome content addressing everything from peer pressure, to hairstyles, to future careers.

Most importantly, much of our content comes form the girls themselves. Their embarrassing moments, their questions answered and statistics gathered from their answers to our questions, polls and surveys. All this content helps connect them to each other and realize they're all going through the same thing in their own unique way.

We also feature real girls on the cover and in every issue. We choose 12 girls from a specific state to inspire our readers, and we never put celebrities on our covers!

The Pea LOVES this magazine -- what 10 year old girl wouldn't? It's filled with lots of fashion tips and ideas, photos of cute clothes, fun articles about stuff girls like, quizzes and more. But I really love this magazine as well, and here are the two main reasons why:

* The girls on the magazines we received are pretty, sure, but they don't look like polished models or twenty-five year-olds, and they're not overloaded with makeup, so I feel good that the magazine is not promoting unrealistic standards for my daughter. As for The Pea, she's thrilled and impressed that "real" girls can appear on the cover of the magazine.

* The more serious topics in the magazine and the Fab Girls Guide books -- mean girls, friendships, body image, growing up -- have really been able to spark some great conversations between us. I'm not the type of person to broach subjects like this out of the blue, but the questions she asks me after reading an article have served as a springboard for both of us to open up. I feel so much more confident that she is going to enter her teenage years feeling like she can talk to me about anything -- and I am SO grateful to Discovery Girls for that.

While I'm all for the "girly-girl" topics like fashion and hair, even the serious "girly-girl" topics like fights between BFF's and body odor, I'm also hoping to see other topics in the magazines like sports, starting a business, outdoor adventures, organizations they can join (like Girl Scouts or Boys & Girls Club) or ways girls can volunteer their time to help the community. But other than that, I really like Discovery Girls magazine because I can see that it's helping my daughter become more confident and open as she begins the challenging process of growing up.

Discovery Girls Ultimate Survival Guide is out on July 8

Discovery Girls is celebrating their 10th birthday with a supersized special magazine issue! This year's Collectors Edition is called the Ultimate Survival Guide and it's twice the size of a regular issue. The magazine, coming out on July 8, will feature the best articles and advice from their first ten years, and it's going to be something your daughter will read again and again. I know, because they sent me a copy of the Collectors Edition, and The Pea can't put it down! Her favorite feature is a hair styling guide that has suggestions for cute hairstyles for every day of the week, for all different types of hair. I've been trying to get her to comb her hair for the past 10 years, so it's quite humbling to see that Discovery Girls got her to do it in no time flat.

About the Ultimate Survival Guide:You won’t want to miss out on our SUPERSIZED Collector’s Edition, featuring the very best of Discovery Girls’ first 10 years. Reserve your copy by July 31st and get FREE SHIPPING AND 2 FREE GIFTS! This ultimate survival guide is packed with:

The very best stories from real girls Style smarts you can use every day Our most popular advice from the last 10 years Bloopers, embarrassing moments and more fun!

Win a copy of the Discovery Girls Ultimate Survival GuideTo celebrate their 10th year, Discovery Girls is giving away one copy of their super-sized, Collectors Edition magazine every day for the month of June! Then, on July 8 (the day the Collector's Edition hits newsstands), they'll be giving away a special DG Collector's Swag Bag, which includes:

1 complimentary year subscription to Discovery Girls magazine (a $20 value!)1 set of Discovery Girls Fab Girls book set ($40)1 issue of the special Discovery Girls Collector's Edition magazine ($10)

Required EntryLeave a comment on this post and tell me the best birthday present you received when you turned 10 (or the present your daughter loved the most when she turned 10). This entry must be completed before extra entries qualify.

Extra EntriesFor extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Take the latest poll on the Discovery Girls website -- currently they're asking "What are you most looking forward to this summer?" -- then leave a comment on this post, telling me what percentage of poll respondents share your answer, i.e. Sleeping in and spending the day in my pajamas, 12% (1 entry).

Win a Discovery Girls magazine gift set from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/bonggaprizes#giveaways

The RulesThis giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on July 14, 2010; I will draw a winner at random on July 15 and post the winner's name after the winner confirms acceptance. US addresses only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by Discovery Girls Magazine and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Comments, Leave yours here:

i dont remember my 10th birthday and my daughter turns 10 this Decmeber - i am betting she is going to love her gift- she has been wanting a netbook and i have been saving up to get her one - i think she will be thrilledmelissa.barnes76 at yahoo dot com

I don't remember what I got when I was 10.However,for my daughter's 10th birthday her Dad got her a ticket to Disney World! He bought a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal and tied a ribbon to her hand with the ticket attached to it.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on the Bonggamom Finds blog are the personal views of the author; any reviews or recommendations are not intended to constitute medical advice or treatment in any form. In addition, neither the Bonggamom Finds blog nor its author are liable, and cannot be held liable, for any dissatisfaction you may have with the product, sponsor or any injuries that may be caused by use of that product.

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